Back in the day when I was a cloth diaper retailer I decided it would be a good idea to start sewing cloth diapers to sell along side the brands that I carried. After all, the cost of cloth diaper materials meant that there was good room for profit when you sew your own.
I didn’t anticipate, however, that one cloth diaper would cost me three diapers worth of materials, because I was that BAD. And I also didn’t plan on me taking a total of about 20 hours of cutting and sewing to end up with three reject cloth diapers, and one cloth diaper that was actually fit to resell.
It was pretty eye opening. I know that the cost of wahm made cloth diapers are perhaps a bit higher than your average store bought, readily available cloth diapers. I’ve seen scoffing and virtual eye rolling at moms who do pay the price to buy wahm made. But after my experience, my very short lived experience, I completely understand the higher prices and feel that wahms are completely justified in charging them.
In fact, wahms are probably undercharging for their time. if you took the time, even an experienced wahm takes to sew one fitted wahm cloth diaper, I bet you she’s paying herself WAY less than minimum wage in order to sell you her diaper, but that’s her prerogative and part of the sacrifice you make when you choose a path that allows you to work from home.
So, this post is not to discourage you from trying to sew your own or start your own wahm business. It’s just a heads up that you can’t knock it til you’ve tried it. There’s something to be said for making something with your own two hands that took hours to make and then selling it to support your family. There’s also something to be said for those who buy wahm made diapers, knowing they were made by hand and that the extra ten bucks you spent probably made a mom’s day and could have been the only sale she’d made for the week or month. Perhaps that one sale was all she needed to stay motivated and inspired to keep her chin up and keep going.
You all know I LOVE small businesses and I am a wahm so it’s no surprise I’m passionate about supporting them and promoting them. This post is just a tip of the hat to all wahms out there and a bit of advice from a mom who tried to be a diaper making wahm once and failed miserably.
Not everyone can buy wahm made diapers but I hope that while you’re in your diapering years that you at least get the chance to own and use one. I promise you’ll think differently about that diaper than you do your others. :)
Are you interested in trying to sew your own diapers? Not sure where to start? Here are a couple of my top resources for supplies and diaper making notions:
- Simplifi on Etsy, Retailer of Modern and Eco Fabric, Supplies and Notions
- Celtic Cloth Wholesale, Cloth Diaper Sewing Resource and Retailer of Supplies, Fabrics and more!
Want to buy your first WAHM cloth diaper? Check out these cuties below. They’re awesome WAHM’s and I am happy to share their links with you:
- bebeMellons on Etsy, AIO’s, Onesize, Fitteds, Covers, Wool and more, all sewn with love by a mom.
- Turtle Soup on Etsy, Swim Diapers, Covers, Apparel and more!
- Making All Things New on Etsy, Hand Knit Covers, Cloth Diapers and more!
- Turtle Love Shop on Etsy, Cloth Diapers and more!
I’m Julie, a former cloth diaper retailer who discovered a passion for the industry. Now, instead of selling cloth diapers, I advocate them and promote small businesses I love who sell and manufacture them.
I’m the wife of a fireman and mother of three. I have a daughter and identical twin sons.
